Defunct restaurant chains and retailers

[abefroman329]

There are/were some nicer Motel 6's.

I've stayed in clean Motel 6s, and newly-renovated Motel 6s, and clean AND newly-renovated Motel 6s, but none that I would call "nice" or even "nicer."  In every case, I've wanted to get up and leave shortly after sunrise.

I spent the night recently in a Motel 6 in Hillsville, Va. It's a former Best Western. I can't imagine the Hampton across the road or the HI Express next door being any nicer.

Some Hampton Inns, particularly the ones with rooms with interior entrances, are quite nice.  Much nicer than the renovated Motel 6 rooms.  But Hampton Inns tend to vary widely from location to location in terms of quality.

[kphoger]

There are/were some nicer Motel 6's.

I've stayed in clean Motel 6s, and newly-renovated Motel 6s, and clean AND newly-renovated Motel 6s, but none that I would call "nice" or even "nicer."  In every case, I've wanted to get up and leave shortly after sunrise.

Newer-construction Motel 6 is a fine place to stay.  You can tell them by their design.

Older-construction Motel 6 is a crappy place to stay, with worn-out mattresses and hoodlums.

[sparker]

We just lost the South Bay's only Steak & Shake a couple of days ago.  The franchise owner had two outlets, one in Campbell and one in Daly City; both closed their doors over the weekend.  Here's the problem:  Both locations opened for business back in August without any fanfare whatsoever -- nothing in the newspapers (including the free local "alternative" rag, the Metro, which tends to cover unusual food fare -- and nothing's as unusual as a Steak & Shake in CA!), no flyers -- and a location that couldn't be seen from the main street on which it was located.  In other words, virtually nobody knew it was there!.  Having been to & enjoyed Steak & Shake on my various trips east, I certainly would have been one of their patrons if I even knew it existed!  There is a 3rd outlet, but it's a "mini"-site on the SJSU campus in downtown San Jose; apparently it's owned by a different franchisee.  All that can be hoped is that Steak & Shake allows a more competent franchise holder to re-establish the chain locally -- I, for one, would be there opening day as long as that opening day was publicized.

[abefroman329]

If you're in CA, why go to Steak 'N' Shake when you could go to In-N-Out Burger?

[jeffandnicole]

He lives in California.  Why would he go to the same place every time?  You live in Chicago?  How about you live on Chicago Pizza every day?

[hbelkins]

Some Hampton Inns, particularly the ones with rooms with interior entrances, are quite nice.  Much nicer than the renovated Motel 6 rooms.  But Hampton Inns tend to vary widely from location to location in terms of quality.

Are there any Hamptons left with exterior entrances?

It's been my experience that Hamptons are remarkably consistent in their quality. They also tend to run $100 or more per night, which is why I don't stay at Hamptons anymore unless my employer is picking up the tab.

[SP Cook]

I've never seen a Hampton inn that had exterior entrances.  Except for a few inner city locations, they all seem to built to variants of a standard design. 

Exterior entrances have aged out of most national chains.

[inkyatari]

How about you live on Chicago Pizza every day?

I could easily do that, to be honest.

[abefroman329]

How about you live on Chicago Pizza every day?

That's the best idea I've heard all week, thanks!

[abefroman329]

Some Hampton Inns, particularly the ones with rooms with interior entrances, are quite nice.  Much nicer than the renovated Motel 6 rooms.  But Hampton Inns tend to vary widely from location to location in terms of quality.

Are there any Hamptons left with exterior entrances?

It's been my experience that Hamptons are remarkably consistent in their quality. They also tend to run $100 or more per night, which is why I don't stay at Hamptons anymore unless my employer is picking up the tab.

Actually, I don't think there are.  There are two in Joliet, and I thought one had exterior entrance, but one is just newer (or looks newer) than the other.

[abefroman329]

About a year ago, we ate at what I thought was the last surviving Bonanza Steakhouse, in downstate IL.  It was surprisingly good, although the cheeseburger I ordered was unseasoned and clearly cooked from frozen.  Also, they came around and distributed rolls one at a time, instead of just putting them out in a basket at the buffet.

Anyway, I just looked at the Wikipedia page for Ponderosa/Bonanza (now one company similar to Hardee's/Carl's Jr. or Checkers/Rally's), and there are 88 total locations.  That's far more than I thought there were.

[formulanone]

Some Hampton Inns, particularly the ones with rooms with interior entrances, are quite nice.  Much nicer than the renovated Motel 6 rooms.  But Hampton Inns tend to vary widely from location to location in terms of quality.

Are there any Hamptons left with exterior entrances?

It's been my experience that Hamptons are remarkably consistent in their quality. They also tend to run $100 or more per night, which is why I don't stay at Hamptons anymore unless my employer is picking up the tab.

In 2016, I booked a Hampton Inn in Tyler, Texas which had exterior doors. It was converted to a Days Inn later that year.

There was a similar one in Huntsville, but it became a Clarion Inn in the last year or so.

They're kind of our go-to option at my company (along with Holiday Inn Express and Fairfield Inn), but sometimes they strike some incredible deal at an upscale or downscale hotel, and booking your own hotel isn't permitted.

Of course, if they go downscale (or too far away) with a large enough group, a few heads complain, and then we wind up in some overpriced alternative.

[Brandon]

Some Hampton Inns, particularly the ones with rooms with interior entrances, are quite nice.  Much nicer than the renovated Motel 6 rooms.  But Hampton Inns tend to vary widely from location to location in terms of quality.

Are there any Hamptons left with exterior entrances?

It's been my experience that Hamptons are remarkably consistent in their quality. They also tend to run $100 or more per night, which is why I don't stay at Hamptons anymore unless my employer is picking up the tab.

Actually, I don't think there are.  There are two in Joliet, and I thought one had exterior entrance, but one is just newer (or looks newer) than the other.

Nope, both are interior entrance only.  They were also built about the same time (late 1990s - early 2000s).

[inkyatari]

Actually, I don't think there are.  There are two in Joliet, and I thought one had exterior entrance, but one is just newer (or looks newer) than the other.

Nope, both are interior entrance only.  They were also built about the same time (late 1990s - early 2000s).

And if I recall correctly at least one of them was renovated in the last 3 years...

[hbelkins]

About a year ago, we ate at what I thought was the last surviving Bonanza Steakhouse, in downstate IL.  It was surprisingly good, although the cheeseburger I ordered was unseasoned and clearly cooked from frozen.  Also, they came around and distributed rolls one at a time, instead of just putting them out in a basket at the buffet.

Anyway, I just looked at the Wikipedia page for Ponderosa/Bonanza (now one company similar to Hardee's/Carl's Jr. or Checkers/Rally's), and there are 88 total locations.  That's far more than I thought there were.

The night of the western Kentucky meet, I ate at the one at Draffenville, Ky. (at the interchange of the Purchase Parkway and US 68, near US 641) and it was very good. The buffet was fairly well-stocked, my steak was pretty tasty and done well (and also well-done, which is the way I prefer my meat; if I wanted to eat raw meat I'd just attack a cow in a field), and everything was clean and reasonably-priced. Certainly not as much variety as a Golden Corral buffet, but I had no complaints.

There's one in Hazard, Ky., and the quality has gone way downhill over the years, to the point where a work group I'm affiliated with will no longer have lunch meetings there.

Are there any Ryan's left? I used to like them pretty well but they've been closing left and right.

[kphoger]

How about you live on Chicago Pizza every day?

I could easily do that, to be honest.

It would be especially easy because, eating Chicago-style pizza every day, you wouldn't live too terribly long anyway.

[abefroman329]

About a year ago, we ate at what I thought was the last surviving Bonanza Steakhouse, in downstate IL.  It was surprisingly good, although the cheeseburger I ordered was unseasoned and clearly cooked from frozen.  Also, they came around and distributed rolls one at a time, instead of just putting them out in a basket at the buffet.

Anyway, I just looked at the Wikipedia page for Ponderosa/Bonanza (now one company similar to Hardee's/Carl's Jr. or Checkers/Rally's), and there are 88 total locations.  That's far more than I thought there were.

The night of the western Kentucky meet, I ate at the one at Draffenville, Ky. (at the interchange of the Purchase Parkway and US 68, near US 641) and it was very good. The buffet was fairly well-stocked, my steak was pretty tasty and done well (and also well-done, which is the way I prefer my meat; if I wanted to eat raw meat I'd just attack a cow in a field), and everything was clean and reasonably-priced. Certainly not as much variety as a Golden Corral buffet, but I had no complaints.

There's one in Hazard, Ky., and the quality has gone way downhill over the years, to the point where a work group I'm affiliated with will no longer have lunch meetings there.

Are there any Ryan's left? I used to like them pretty well but they've been closing left and right.

Almost 30, according to this link: http://www.ryans.com/restaurants

Looks like they're affiliated with Old Country Buffet somehow.  Which is down to one location in Illinois.  One.  They used to be all over Chicagoland.

[abefroman329]

Actually, I don't think there are.  There are two in Joliet, and I thought one had exterior entrance, but one is just newer (or looks newer) than the other.

Nope, both are interior entrance only.  They were also built about the same time (late 1990s - early 2000s).

And if I recall correctly at least one of them was renovated in the last 3 years...

Probably not the one near Louis Joliet Mall, which is the only one I've stayed at.

[abefroman329]

How about you live on Chicago Pizza every day?

I could easily do that, to be honest.

It would be especially easy because, eating Chicago-style pizza every day, you wouldn't live too terribly long anyway.

You'd be fine if you ate it in moderation, and you wouldn't die any earlier if you ate nothing but any other style of pizza. 

You'd want to die if you could eat nothing but St. Louis-style pizza, though.

[Flint1979]

I tried multiple days of Flint style coney dogs and I lasted a week.

[kphoger]

You'd be fine if you ate it in moderation, and you wouldn't die any earlier if you ate nothing but any other style of pizza. 

I'm not so sure about that.  That's a LOT of cheese you'd be consuming.

Eating the same number of slices, you'd consume 73% more fat by eating Giordano's cheese pizza than by eating Domino's cheese pizza.

Eating the same number of Calories, you'd consume 25% more fat by eating Giordano's cheese pizza than by eating Domino's cheese pizza.

[sparker]

If you're in CA, why go to Steak 'N' Shake when you could go to In-N-Out Burger?

He lives in California.  Why would he go to the same place every time?  You live in Chicago?  How about you live on Chicago Pizza every day?

I like a lot of burger joints -- discovered In'n'Out when they were just in the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire back in the '60's when I was attending UC Riverside -- and have been going there since.  But I also like Fuddruckers (they're down to one Fremont store locally at this time); if it's really convenient, a Carl's Jr. (Super Star, no tomato!) works quite well -- most of the other national chains are avoided when possible.  And I grew up on Bob's Big Boy -- which has all but disappeared in CA; when I'm back east, I'll stop at an Elby's for that particular cuisine if there's one around (their outlet on I-90 in Erie, PA -- at the PA 97 exit -- was one of my regular lunch/dinner treats!).  I do like to spread my burger experience around a bit -- which is why I regret not having the opportunity to hit a local Steak & Shake -- I might hit the SJSU mini-site some time -- if I can park close enough!

[hbelkins]

If you're in CA, why go to Steak 'N' Shake when you could go to In-N-Out Burger?

Maybe he likes Steak 'n' Shake better? (I personally don't see the great attraction many have for S'n'S, but that's just me, I suppose.)

We have Five Guys here, and a smattering of Smashburger locations, but I'll still usually choose Culver's over any of them.

(Unfortunately, no In-n-Out locations near Shreveport, although there are a bunch in the DFW area.)

[kphoger]

We have greasy burgers here, and a smattering of even greasier burger locations, but I'll still usually choose other greasy burgers over any of them.

FTFY.

For the record, I love all three of those chains.  Greasy burgers are the best burgers. 

[inkyatari]

Actually, I don't think there are.  There are two in Joliet, and I thought one had exterior entrance, but one is just newer (or looks newer) than the other.

Nope, both are interior entrance only.  They were also built about the same time (late 1990s - early 2000s).

And if I recall correctly at least one of them was renovated in the last 3 years...

Probably not the one near Louis Joliet Mall, which is the only one I've stayed at.

That's the one I'm thinking of.  It must have been longer ago, then.